Childhood in Giza
Sheikh Mohamed Mahmoud Al-Tablawi – may Allah have mercy on him – was born in 1934 in Mit Uqba in Giza governorate, then still a rural village on the edge of Cairo. Like many of Egypt's great reciters, he began in the kuttab, the traditional Quran school, and memorised the whole Quran as a child. Very early he was invited to recite at family celebrations, funerals and religious occasions, and his name spread from village to village.
The road to the radio
Admission to Egyptian radio was then the highest recognition for a reciter – and a demanding test. Al-Tablawi was accepted as a radio reciter in the early 1970s. From then on his voice was heard throughout Egypt and soon across the Muslim world. He travelled to many countries, recited at official occasions and in great mosques, and was honoured many times.
An unmistakable style
You can often recognise Al-Tablawi within a few seconds. His voice was strong, bright and remarkably agile; he mastered the maqamat, the melodic modes of the Arabic musical tradition, and moved between them with great assurance. His long breath was famous: he could carry long stretches of verses in one go without losing clarity. He was a master of the mujawwad style, the elaborate, extended form of recitation, and his murattal recordings are still listened to today.
Head of the reciters
In his later years Sheikh Al-Tablawi became head of Egypt's Reciters' Syndicate (Naqib al-Qurra') – a sign of the great respect his colleagues had for him. He remained active into old age and passed away in 2020.
What you can take from him as a learner
- Breath control: listen to how he shapes long passages and notice where he takes a breath. It is very instructive for your own longer readings.
- Discovering the maqamat: if you are curious about the melodic side of recitation, he offers a rich example.
- Understanding the Egyptian school: together with his contemporaries, he shaped the sound many people associate with Quran recitation.
Legacy
For decades Sheikh Al-Tablawi touched people with the word of Allah – in villages, in great mosques and, through the radio, in countless homes. May Allah have mercy on him and count him among those to whom it will be said: "Recite and rise."